While we take a pause from our favorite destinations, we are keeping the spirit of learning and exploration alive. Whether you are disappointed about canceling your travel plans, just missing your local museum, or looking for ways to introduce your family to new places, there are virtual travel opportunities out there.  Below are links to some great virtual tours, as well as our featured virtual tour: Machu Picchu

Virtual Travel Pic

Here are some awesome journeys you can take without having to leave your house: 

  • NATIONAL PARKS: Checkout these great interactive Google Arts and Culture tours highlighting The Hidden Worlds of National Parks, featuring interactive virtual tours of  Bryce Cannon (Utah), Dry Tortugas (Florida), Kenai Fjords (Alaska), Hawai’i Volcanoes, and the Carlsbad Caverns (Mexico).  Also, if you have a specific park that you and your family wish to explore, here is an extensive and searchable list of our great National Parks, complements of Google Earth. 
  • MUSEUMS: Revisit a favorite museum or explore a new one with a virtual tour. Here’s a list of several to start with: From the Getty, to the Uffizi and back to the São Paulo Museum of Art.
  • NATURE & WILDLIFE:  These aquarium, zoo, and park webcams can be a great way to escape. Sometimes the animals are just doing nothing, but we are not judging! Careful, the jellyfish cam is hypnotic. You’ll surely want to add Europe’s largest aquarium in Valencia to your next visit to Spain after this Valencia virtual tour!
  • ARCHITECTURE:  Architecture enthusiasts will want to check out the virtual tour of Frank Lloyd Wright’s Taliesin West on the foundation’s 3D Laboratory website. There you can also watch a short introduction to the philosophy, collaboration, and technology behind the making of the tour. Learn about other participating Frank Lloyd Wright sites here.
  • WORLD DISCOVERY: Visit the far reaches of the Earth with Google Map Treks! The offerings are diverse: from El Capitan to Angkor Wat. Note that the level of access and user-friendly qualities vary depending on the data available. Mary Ann, Travel-Learn program director’s personal favorite—so far—is the tour of Petra; it comes with a narrator to explain what you are seeing! 

OTHER WAYS TO TRAVEL & LEARN:
Because some of the best journeys are the ones we take in our minds, here are some other travel inspired ways we can experience the world.